Over the years I have had some interesting e-mail exchanges with some of those in the Christian Right who in my opinion are certifiably crazy. One such Christian Right nutcase was Linda Havey of Mission America. Harvey holds herself as an expert on numerous issues and makes pronouncements on all types of topics. The problem is that Harvey holds no degrees that would qualify her as an expert on any of the topics she rants about, especial anti-gay issues. In an e-mail that I still have, Harvey herself confirmed that her only degree was in marketing. That's right, marketing. Not sociology, not mental health, not medicine, not even theology. Just marketing. Candidly, when I encounter someone as insanely extreme as Harvey, I have to wonder what dark psychological issue or form of mental illness could explain such hate, viciousness and derangement. Right Wing Watch looks at Harvey's latest lunacy. Here are some highlights:

To try to slither around sin is not a novel idea, but to organize a group of folks to proudly renounce the teaching of Scripture is fragrantly defiant. They have bought the idea that there are people who are born to be homosexual or bisexual or in the wrong-sex body, it defies not just the teaching of Scripture but common sense, what kind of a Creator puts someone in the wrong-sex body? Or creates people destined to mate with just the same-sex, never being able to create new life together and always having problems making the anatomy work.

Once you buy into the ‘born that way’ idea then self-delusion is not that far behind. There’s no evidence there are different humans called LGBTQ people, these are sinful behaviors, not in-born identities. . . . . They would be more respectful if they simply walked away from Christianity. But to try and stay and change it is worse than hypocrisy—it’s deception.

With more than sufficient provocation my activist Wayne Besen described Harvey as "The Most Homophobic Woman in America." Wayne went on to state as follows:

Unlike her more sophisticated counterparts, Harvey is a zealot without a filter who appears unable to finesse her fanaticism. She is outright paranoid of an imagined gay menace that in her diseased mind is lurking to corrupt children on every street corner. For example, Harvey's latest screed warns naïve mothers about the threat of openly gay doctors and nurses treating their children.

Harvey is also opposed to openly LGBT schoolteachers and claimed on her website that that, “These teachers then become role models, in-house activists, and possible confidants for students who want to start homosexual behavior. Student molestation becomes a real risk.”

In addition to this bullshit, Harvey also has more or less endorsed Uganada's reintroduced "kill the gays bill." In short, from what I have seen of Harvey's latest anti-gay screeds, Wayne is 100% on point. Nonetheless, Harvey had a "shit fit" and in a tweet - yes, it's amazing she knows how to use tweeter - threatened that she should sue Wayne for defamation. Wayne's response was as follows:

“Bring it on,” says Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “We hope that such a case would be aired on television so we can expose Harvey’s vile words in a court of law and in the court of public opinion. It’s bizarre that Harvey is upset because we quoted her verbatim, which tells me that on some level she is ashamed of her own hateful rhetoric.”

“Linda Harvey’s legal threats are frivolous and if they rested on any shakier legal ground they would be measured by the Richter Scale. I can only surmise her tweets are a pathetic and desperate ploy for attention,” said attorney Norm Kent. “We look forward to her next move and will take appropriate action.”

Some years back I received a similar threat from "ex-gay for pay" Stephen Bennett after I had challenged him on some of the anti-gay lies on his website that relied on "facts" proffered by Paul Cameron which had been previously proven 100% false. When I welcomed a lawsuit where the rules of evidence and discovery rules would have yielded a treasure trove of information against Bennett, Bennett suddenly became conciliatory and the bogus information was removed from Bennett's website.

I hope Wayne keeps up the pressure on Harvey and, if she's stupid enough to sue, it will be most delicious to see her proven to be a liar and fraud in court.

Jesus would expel her and people like her from christianity, with a dishounorable discharge I'm certain! God, what a deranged, abject, immoral person!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

In the dark they meetwhen the autunnal winds blowsIn deserted streetsThe moon watches on theirstolen kisseson their fugacious dreamsThe sound of footstepsas they retrace homeresonates in the silencebefore they returnfrom the night sideof love

"But now I have nothing else to say," he said, closing the door to his home. "I'll be back to work Monday and will say more then."

Camping's followers will surely be listening.

"I'm not as disappointed as everyone since I didn't fully believe him," said one, who asked to remain anonymous Sunday because he worried he would be shunned for admitting he was "upset" with Camping.

The middle-aged Oakland resident said he'd been listening to Camping since 1993, when he said the world would end in 1994.

That was strike one, the man said. And this is strike two. Even so, he said, that doesn't mean the message is wrong.

"I just know he's biblically sound," the man said. "I've never been one of these guys who think everything he says is true.

"I don't think I am going to stop listening to him," the man added, heaving a deep sigh before continuing: "I don't know, I gotta listen to him on Monday, see what he says on the radio."

Outside Camping's compound near the Oakland airport, which was locked and dark on Sunday, a different religious group waited for dejected believers.

"I would encourage them not to lose their faith because they listened to a wolf in sheep's clothing, and Jesus said there would be wolves in sheep's clothing," said Jackie Alnor.

Alnor, a resident of Hayward who blogs about the rapture, said Camping had twisted the word of God by trying to predict the end. Only God knows when the world will end, she said.

"He's in big trouble with God," she said.

If that isn't bad enough, she said, Camping's false prophecy could have bigger impacts on religion.

"It's given people who hate Christianity an excuse to hate it even more," she said. "People can just paint with broad brush strokes."

Across town, a group of atheists gathered in Oakland's Masonic Center to observe the promised rapture in their own way.

"The issue is the Bible is mythology," said Larry Hicok, state director of the American Atheists, bluntly laying out his case.

Roughly 200 people attended the hastily scheduled conference to discuss the impact of organized religion on American culture.

"Every ruler needs a religion," Hicok said. "Everybody knows that's the way you get power."

He said too many followers of religion get lost in the details of their particular belief.

"Maybe the constant is love, and the rest of it you can let go of," he said.

That's right, no maybes'! By the way, the wretched Camping suffered a stroke after his failed May prediction, and some morons said it was punishment from God. Well, I believe in no punishing God. The sooner we all will call the Bible a mythology book, the better.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The protofeathers are structures shaped keratin hair or bristle and are considered the precursors of feathers.

When did?

Much of all this passionate debate is the date of appearance of the feathers, protofeathers. It is interesting that the oldest fossilprotofeathers are later than the earliest known bird. It makes no sense unless the protofeathers or dinofuzz ​​appeared much earlier (in the Middle Triassic) and therefore would all structures originally present in dinosaurs and their immediate ancestors. Impressions of skin devoid of feathers or protofeathers known (Anatosaurus, Carnotaurus, Tyrannosaurus, etc..) Could be due to a subsequent loss of the outer coating due to the large body mass of these animals (the same reason that the rhinos and elephants have virtually no hair). But this need not be. Anyway ... although I am inclined to this theory, it really is just a theory.

How are the protofeathers?

According to the current expliación: One of reptilian scales ... This is the first spine, then becomes hollow and extends, as it grows, it follows from the skin and forms a cluster of hairs called beards or barbules.

In this video you can see the process of formation of protofeathers.

Why are important protofeathers?

For as we said, are the precursors of feathers. The appearance of the feathers is one of the most controversial issues can be found by paleontologists.

Apart from that it is not clear when they appeared, the experts, agree with in the end, why they left feathers: feathers but now used to fly (the most important feature) is considered to formation of these was a simple cold protection system. A coat of hollow scales isolated from the ravages of time.

Why were transformed into feathers?

Protofeathers are known to be used to maintain body heat and cover the body from the cold. And the fossils discovered (or most) protofeathers concentrations were located on the tail and arms. This allowed them to cover her at night and cover the cold while the temperature down ...

It is no coincidence that birds have feathers on the wings larger (called T-shirts or remiges) and tail (tail feathers or rectrices). They were the first to develop, were the first to appear were also exercising more air resistance. An important feature for small arboreal animals, leaping from branch to branch or thieves fast and small eggs.

What were the first to have protofeathers?

There are several examples of theropods (a group of two-legged carnivores, which is the T. Rex or Velociraptor). Some are: Dilong paradoxus, Sinosauropteryx, Shuvuuia, Beipiaosaurus, Sinornithosaurus, etc ...

But not only are the developers of theropodsDinofuzz ​​protofeathers or, for example there is the Tianyulong, a small herbivore that is casting doubt on its position in the evolutionary tree and it was discovered 2 years ago.

Finally, there are still many questions to solve, finding fossils and discovering new species. A truly exciting topic of prehistoric life on our planet.